Quebec’s justice system will require more money and human resources, need to make more use of technological advances to efficiently deal with routine appearances, and prioritize and encourage timely resolution of cases to be able to curb the unprecedented delays in criminal proceedings, according to the Chief Justice of the Court of Quebec Elizabeth Corte.
Criminal law
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Quebec criminal justice plagued by delays
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Quebec Ombudsman slams detention conditions in the North
Nearly three years after the president of the Quebec legal society warned the provincial government that prison conditions faced by Inuit inmates in northern Quebec were appalling and deplorable, the Quebec Ombudsman upbraided the government for turning a blind eye to the daily violation of basic human rights, unacceptable detention conditions, and systemic shortcomings in the administration of justice in Nunavik.
Remote Arctic jails Unsanitary and overcrowded holding cells, nauseating odours, soiled bedding, inaccessible showers, sanitation facilities that fail to provide detainees with privacy, and prisoners having to eat their meals on the floor are among some of the more disturbing findings made by the Quebec Ombudsman Raymonde Saint-Germain who likened Nunavik’s detention and justice system to the Third World. Just as troubling were her findings that detainees are kept in cells 24 hours a day because there are no outdoor courtyards, with some detainees having to wait as long as two weeks in preventative custody. The Criminal Code of Canada prescribes a maximum waiting time of three days.
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Tough on crime agenda suffers another blow
The federal government’s tough-on-crime agenda suffered another blow after the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that a legislative amendment slipped into the 2012 omnibus bill that effectively ended mandatory parole board hearings following a suspension, termination or revocation of parole or statutory release was of no force in the province.In a highly-anticipated ruling by the prison law community, the Quebec Court of Appeal held that the legislative change, a cost-savings measure expected to recoup $1.6 million, breached rights guaranteed under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a similar vein, the Supreme Court of Canada last year ruled that a federal law passed in 2011 that retroactively abolished accelerated parole review for offenders who had already been sentenced violates a person’s Charter right to not be punished again.
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Another blow for Mr. Big operations
A Quebec man convicted of the first degree murder of his pregnant wife following a Mr. Big operation police sting operation is now a free man after the Quebec Court of Appeal found that his confession was obtained under duress, the second time this year that the appeal court has taken a dim view of the elaborate police strategy.“Thousands and thousands of dollars are invested by the state in these Mr. Big operations to try to elicit a confession,” remarked Montreal criminal lawyer Jean-Philippe Marcoux. “And after all that, for it to reach the Court who ordered a stay of proceedings, it is a dismal failure.”
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New trial ordered for murderer following insufficiently clear jury instructions
A new trial has been ordered for a 51-year old Quebec City man convicted of first degree murder after the Quebec Court of Appeal held that the trial judge did not provide with sufficiently clear instructions to the jury over the reliability of a confession made in a “Mr. Big” police sting operation.In a case that applied the new framework established last year by the Supreme Court of Canada over the admissibility of confessions elicited during “Mr. Big” operations, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that the confession made by Alain Perreault during the police sting was admissible because its probative value outweighed its prejudicial effects. But the appeal court found the trial judge should have instructed the jury the context in which the admission was made to address concerns about the reliability and prejudice that arise from these confessions. “Mr. Big” operations are elaborate stings where undercover agents recruit suspects into fictitious criminal organizations to gain their trust and extract a confession, particularly in cold cases.
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Repeat drunk driving offender gets lenient sentence
A lower court ruling that sentenced a 61-year old Montreal alcoholic and repeat offender of impaired driving offenses to only 120 days of imprisonment and a lifetime driving ban was upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal in a ruling that reaffirms the discretionary sentencing powers of trial judges, highlights the merits of individualized sentencing, and reiterates the weight that can be given to rehabilitation when sentencing.“The ruling is important because it shows there is still a place for individualized sentencing, that people who may not be cookie cutter examples of a sentence can actually get something that is outside of the norm because obviously the sentence he got was quite lenient,” said Dylan Jones, a Montreal criminal lawyer with Boro, Polnicky, Lighter. “It’s also important because it at least shows that if people are willing make efforts to change their lives for the better they can be rewarded for that.”
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Appeal court orders new trial after expert witness changes testimony
The Quebec Court of Appeal set aside the conviction of a second degree murder and ordered a new trial after it found that an expert witness offered a completely different conclusion during cross-examination at a jury trial compared to her written report and testimony she provided during the preliminary inquiry.In a clear message to expert witnesses, the appeal court held that the forensic scientist, a professional expert witness with 14 years of experience who is often called upon by the Crown to testify, should have at the very least disclosed her new conclusion to Crown counsel or to the police investigator who interviewed her before trial. “The sudden nature of her new testimony is worrisome,” said the three-judge Court of Appeal panel in Gakmakge c. R., 2015 QCCA 314.
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Minimizing data breaches
Law firms have often been described as the “soft underbelly” of cyber security or the “path of least resistance to steal sensitive client information,” as one Canadian forensic expert put it. Down south, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation went so far as to warn law firms that they are not doing enough to guard against cybercrime.Here, the situation is more of the same. “A lot of people in the legal community are coming around to cyber risk but there definitely needs to be increased awareness regarding cyber threats that law offices face,” says Kevvie Fowler, a partner and one of Canada’s leading forensic experts with KPMG LLP (Canada).
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Information Governance: Taming a world of chaos
It appears to have become the new norm. Not a week seems to go by without a report about a data breach. America’s largest bank, JP Morgan Chase, is the latest high-profile victim, and it is still reeling from this summer’s cyber attack that compromised the accounts of 76 million households — the equivalent of 65% of all U.S. households — and seven million businesses. Law firms are far from immune. An American multi-state criminal firm discreetly filed a report in late June with California authorities, the first U.S. state to adopt data breach notification legislation, after a hard drive containing backup files for one of the firm’s servers was stolen from the locked trunk of an employee’s vehicle. -
Employer has the right to fire police officer facing criminal charges, rules appeal court
The dismissal of a former Quebec City police officer was upheld by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it ruled that his employer had the right to fire him while he was the subject of a pending criminal investigation. -
Quebec’s anti-corruption law proves to be a niche market for accounting firms
Quebec’s anti-corruption law, adopted more than a year ago in the wake of allegations of bribes, collusion, influence peddling, and widespread corruption in the construction industry, is proving to be good business for accounting firms.
Adopted more than a year following the launch of the Charbonneau Commission, a public inquiry mandated to examine potential corruption in the awarding and management of public construction contracts, the Integrity in Public Contracts Act (Act) compels companies to obtain a seal of integrity if they wish to bid on the billion dollars in contracts awarded annually in the Quebec public sector.
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Mayor accused of corruption and fraud must pay for own defence, rules appeal court
The former mayor of a Montreal bedroom community facing corruption-related charges will have to foot her own legal defence bills after the Quebec Court of Appeal held that the municipality did not have to pay for her defence because the alleged acts did not take place while she was performing duties of an elected member.
The precedent-setting ruling sends a clear message to elected municipal councillors who were counting on jurisprudence and the seemingly clear-cut wording of the Quebec Cities and Towns Act to compel municipalities to cover their legal fees when faced with criminal proceedings, according to municipal law experts.
“It’s an important judgment because it will provide guidance to municipalities who face similar circumstances,” remarked Daniel Bouchard, the managing partner of the Quebec City office for Lavery, de Billy. “Municipalities will now systematically refuse to pay.”
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More fallout from Norshield financial scandal
Nearly eight years after a high-flying hedge fund with ostensibly $1-billion in assets collapsed under the weight of a flurry of investor redemptions, the fallout from the Norshield Financial Group financial debacle continues unabated.
Quebec Superior Court recently certified a $159-million class action against the Royal Bank of Canada, less than four months after yet another financial planner was fined $225,000 by the Court of Quebec after being found guilty of 60 of the 62 charges laid against him by the provincial securities regulator in connection with the illegal distribution of products related to Norshield. So far, ten representatives have been found guilty, incurring fines totalling $628,500. Only one case remains outstanding.
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Quebec companies barred from bidding on public contracts have little chance of obtaining legal relief
Companies that have been barred from bidding on public contracts stand little chance of obtaining injunctive relief that would temporarily suspend a new law aimed at curbing corruption in the construction industry, following a closely-watched ruling by Quebec Superior Court.
In the wake of allegations of bribes, collusion, influence peddling, and widespread corruption in the construction industry, corroborated by testimony before the Charbonneau commission, the Quebec government passed legislation last December that compels companies to obtain a seal of integrity if they wish to bid on the billion dollars in contracts awarded annually in the Quebec public sector.
